I am thinking of making those antipasti kind peppers that you bake in the oven at a low temperature for quite a while and then marinate them in some oil/vinegar mixture.
I've heard that you put whole peppers in the oven but isn't there a risk of explosion because of the heat (because when I do roast potatoes in the oven, I pierce their skin with a fork to avoid any danger)?

Does anyone have some specific details concerning this recipe?
Thanks.

Joined: 18 Oct 2004Posts: 1654Location: Within view of Elliot Bay, The Olympics and every ship in the Sound

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 12:49 pm Post subject:

I roast peppers all the time and their is no risk of explosion. The pepper actually comes out looking deflated. One way to roast them that is really quick and simple is to use a kitchen torch, it's also fun._________________"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

I think the concept of food exploding in the oven is a myth. I've seen it happen in the microvave with garlic cloves, for example. But, that's because the microwave cooks from the inside to the outside. Whereas, the oven cooks outside to inside. So, I can't see how food could explode in an oven. (I doubt a potato or sweet potato would explode in a microwave, btw.)

There may be a valid case for piercing a potato with a fork before cooking in the oven, however. The holes will allow heat to reach the inside sooner than were there no holes._________________' She says, 'I am the glamorous type.' I said, 'So what?'

Joined: 18 Oct 2004Posts: 1654Location: Within view of Elliot Bay, The Olympics and every ship in the Sound

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 7:29 pm Post subject:

lee-loreya,

I am addicted to my torch, which I bought for making creme brulee. Now I can't put it down, it is really fun to use, (carefully). When I first got it I had to stop my husband from taking it to use in the garage._________________"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

if you have a gas stove (range...whatever), you can just whack it straight onto the burner, too. that's rather like the blowtorch method. And if you have a BBQ, that's great too. (oh, that's right. it's winter!). i think the "on the stove" method's a bit quick and dirty though. in the oven, not too hot, slowish time. that's the ticket.

and then into a plastic bag while it's still warm to steam for a bit. you can peel it when it's a bit cooler while tis inside by just rubbing the skin off through the plastic bag. v. neat and tidy.

Apparently it can. One of my friends, who didn't know about piercing the potato skin, had a potato explode in her microwave oven.

Also, I JUST read about this... where?? what cookbook??? [thinks...] Oh yes! Staff Meals from Chanterelle by David Waltuck. He wrote that after years of pricking potatoes first, he decided it was an old wives' tale and quit bothering. A few years of not pricking potatoes went by. And then one day at the restaurant, he went to check on the baking potatoes and one had exploded - potato skin all over the oven walls. (I'd type out the actual quote but there is a copyright notice on the book saying none of it can be reproduced without permission. I wouldn't want to get Clotilde in trouble.)

Even though it happens rarely, one may as well not tempt fate. It's not hard to put a few holes in the skin.

I know a torch will do a great job and I've got one for things like créme brulée but it's so much easier to put the peppers into the flaming gas jets on the stovetop than the find the *&%# torch! If you don't use a gas top, you can do it with a red-hot cast iron skillet or grill on an electric element but the skin and skillet will have to make contact and that's a limited proposition when you're talking about the irregular surface of a pepper. The flame, OTOH, will fills those nooks & crannies and wrap around the round surfaces.

When you see the blistering of the skin turn them to virgin skin. It won't take long and you get great flavor from that extreme caramelization even tho you're going to rub off the skin when they emerge from the baggie.

Do it with a variety of colors of peppers and they'll look so vibrant and pretty however you eventually use them, but be careful, if you're going to purée them, which colors you combine. You don't want to use complementary colors and end up with a muddy looking gray/brown

I think the concept of food exploding in the oven is a myth. I've seen it happen in the microvave with garlic cloves, for example. But, that's because the microwave cooks from the inside to the outside. Whereas, the oven cooks outside to inside. So, I can't see how food could explode in an oven. (I doubt a potato or sweet potato would explode in a microwave, btw.)

There may be a valid case for piercing a potato with a fork before cooking in the oven, however. The holes will allow heat to reach the inside sooner than were there no holes.

Sarape: I am HERE to testify that exploding potatoes DO INDEED exist! I had the pleasure (not!) of cleaning one up that covered 100% of the interior surface of my brand-new oven! I was baking a dozen pototoes for future use and must have missed that one; I was in the kitchen when it happened and I heard/felt a !BOOM! go off inside the oven! Jeepers, that was scary!!!

Before opening the oven, I turned on the interior light and it looked like the inside of a cave, only with potato stalactites and stagmites.

Damn thing took me over an hour to clean.

So at least THIS 'myth' is true. And while I'm at it, there's also an Urban Myth about fluids that explode when you take them out of the microwave. This is also true. My partner was making hot chocolate in the microwave and when it was done, she plopped in some marshmallows. The liquid blew up, all over her, resulting in a burnt sweetheart, a broken mug and quite a mess to clean up. Apparently, if the liquid is too hot, the cooler substance that is put in, whether marshmallows, cream or whatnot, will cause it to explode upwards.

She's okay, but hasn't used the microwave since...for anything! Keeps it cleaner inside, for sure.

O'kay, Dairy_Queen, the myth is true. Your letter implies that several potatoes exploded simultaneously to create such a sound and mess. But, that seems hard to believe.

Very interesting story about the cool marshmellows causing the hot chocolate liquid and cup to explode. Now, that's a real puzzler! Could it have been the marshmellows expanding rapidly as they absorbed the hot liquid? That seems more likely the case than explaining it by the temperature of the marshmellow.

Have your partner repeat the experiment by droping in cold marbles instead of the marshmellows. I suspect she'll not have an explosion in this case._________________' She says, 'I am the glamorous type.' I said, 'So what?'

I actually bake the potatoes pierced AND wrapped in foil : I read in some special 'taters recipe book that this way, the carb cells (don't know the word for this....in french it's amidon) crawl out from the inside and make a sort of grilled crust on the skin which is really yummy (for extra crustiness, it advises to roll the raw potatoes in sea salt).

I'm really sorry for all those banging potato tales but I can't help laughing: those stories sort of make the food a living being don't you think?

I actually bake the potatoes pierced AND wrapped in foil : I read in some special 'taters recipe book that this way, the carb cells (don't know the word for this....in french it's amidon) crawl out from the inside and make a sort of grilled crust on the skin which is really yummy (for extra crustiness, it advises to roll the raw potatoes in sea salt).

I'm really sorry for all those banging potato tales but I can't help laughing: those stories sort of make the food a living being don't you think?

lee: I'm laughing now over the stoopid potatoes, but I sure wasn't laughing THEN! Honestly, the entire inside of the stove: the racks, the other potatoes, the sides and bottoms were coated in "smashed" potatoes! The others weren't done baking yet, so I had to wait until they were all done to clean it up. The only good thing, was that the potato smithereens dried out in the oven, so after it cooled, I could sweep the mess off of everything.

since we're baking potatoes now...
my fav. thing to do (guaranteed no explosions) is to par-boil them till the outside's soft and the inside's still firm - say, 10 of your normal 20 minutes boiling time - (pre-heat your oven in the meantime to 180-200 celsius), and then get a potato masher and squash them onto a baking tray, (just one good squash, don't completely flatten the poor things) drizzle them with plenty of olive oil, sprinkle salt and some rosemary, and finish the cooking in the oven. now that's what i call a "smashed potato"! mmm.

OOPS!! should edit and say that i mean no disrespect to dairy queen, who happened to post about smashed potatoes before me! eek. it just so happens that i call my potatoes "smashed"!!! sorry!!!